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Beyond the big, historic headline…
June 6, 2013 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Some of the better & more fascinating items found in old newspapers are not the most historic or significant, but rather the casual appearance of seemingly innocuous reports which excite collecting interest beyond the historic headline or dramatic presentation which are the more usual draw.
Much of what intrigues collectors can be lost within the body of reports, yet they tell a story of their own, such as the patriotic fervor of some colonist during the Revolutionary War. I recall an issue of the Edinburgh Evening Courant of June 17, 1776 reporting on American soldiers: “…Their uniform is a dark grey coarse linen frock, which covers the whole body…with the words, ‘Death or Liberty’ 
marked in large red letters on the right sleeve; and many of them are so enthusiastic as to have them marked with their own blood…“. This report is almost lost on page 3 yet its message is very telling of the spirit which caused the Americans to win the war against a world power despite insurmountable odds.
Some reports are fascinating by their bias. A Richmond newspaper’s (Daily Examiner for July 13, 1863) reporting on the Battle of Gettysburg notes: “…The Confederates did not gain a victory, neither did the enemy. He succeeded in defending himself & we failed in some portions of an attack…We killed more of the enemy than we lost; we took very many more prisoners than lost. The Confederate army did not leave the enemy until it had tried every link of his armour…” Another newspaper notes: “ ..Information, certainly authentic, is in the hands of the Government, which leaves no doubt of the safety & triumph of the noble army. General Lee was victorious in all the combats which have taken place. He has been engaged with the whole force of the United States & has broken its backbone…”, Perhaps the most extraordinary example of optimism appeared in the Richmond Examiner of July 25: “…The result was not a defeat, it was not a loss; it was only not a victory…It was little else than a disappointment of extraordinary expectations…”. What a precious statement as an example of Confederate optimism.
Other little gems were very prophetic in their reporting, particularly when read with an historic perspective. A Scottish newspaper from 1775 (EDINBURGH EVENING COURANT, October 7, 1775) sensed a lasting war with America as it reflected on the Battle of Bunker: “…The mischiefs which have already arisen & the greater calamities which are threatened from the unnatural war excited in America…It is impossible we can see, without the utmost alarm, preparations making for the prosecution of an expensive & ruinous war with our own Colonies…”. Some can be very recent, like the New York Times comment on rookie Mickey Mantle in 1951 (NYT, April 5, 1951): “…Mantle, who gives every promise of developing into an outstanding baseball star, was ordered to report to his draft board next Wednesday…” An editorial comment in the Army & Navy Journal of November 28, 1863, just after the Gettysburg Address opined: “…a dedicatory speech by President Lincoln, which we give in full, as decidedly the best feature of the occasion, as well as one of the most felicitous utterances of its author.” How true.
Some were prophetic even when the reports were simply wrong, like the Illustrated American article of 1898 reporting on “A New Flying Machine That Flies”–five years before the Wright brothers–when it said: “…It is impossible to imagine without terror the day when these mechanical birds, these flying apparitions, will be able to rain upon armies, hostile towns and escalating parties most deadly and most destructive explosives…”. How true it would become.
There can be much to be found in newspapers beyond the headline. What a thrill it is to discover such hidden gems; reports that have escaped hundreds of years of history only to rediscovered with new-found relevance today. Such are just some of the joys of collecting early newspapers.
What meaningful gift do you give to a 90-year-old?
May 31, 2013 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
One of the greatest challenges when it comes to gift-giving is what to purchase for someone in their 50’s-90’s+ that is both unique and meaningful. While we at Rare Newspapers specialize in offering historic newspapers from the 1600’s, 1700’s, and 1800’s, we also offer Birthday Newspapers – issues from 
the day someone was born. A recent note from a purchaser of such a gift warmed our hearts. Thanks to R.M. for allowing us to share his response:
Original newspapers for the “Day You Were Born” do make wonderful gifts.
The Traveler… slave trafficking 100 years ago… Johnson pitching… 24-hour workday… Coney Island – time for some fun…
May 20, 2013 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
This week I journey to New York City by the way of The New York Tribune of May 19, 1913. There I found a report from John D. Rockefeller on the white slave trafficking that was occurring. “The report says, New York has become the hub of the white slave traffic, not only for the other large cities of the United States, but for Argentine, Brazil, Cuba and Canada also.”
In the sporting news, a headline reads “Walter Johnson Wins His Tenth Straight”. Johnson won 36 games in 1913, 40% of the team’s total wins in the season. In April and May, he pitched 55.2 consecutive scoreless innings, still the American League record and the third-longest streak in history. He also received the MVP this year as well.
Standard Oil Workers were also starting a fight for shorter work days siting “inhuman” conditions, requesting to drop from 24-hour to 8-hour work days.
With the beginning of sunny days, “The new Coney Island, bigger and better” opened to a crowd of 300,000. Here’s to many enjoyable sunny, summer days.
~The Traveler
The Traveler… marching in Birmingham… Hitler’s end… your next party…
May 6, 2013 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to Detroit, Michigan by the way of The Detroit News for May 6, 1963. There I found that for the past several days Birmingham, Alabama, has been witnessing the “Children’s Crusade”, in which several hundred students had skipped school to march for desegregation and civil rights. Today’s report states it was peaceful with singing, chanting and praying as it was Sunday. Oddly enough the only arrest made (as of this article) was of a white couple inside the church as they were not permitted inside the church.
Also in the paper was a headline “Found Hitler’s Body in ’45, Reds Say in War ‘Secrets'” which also included a large photo Adolf Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun. This was information being released about the disposition of Hitler’s body from the release of a book by Cornlius Ryan entitled “The Longest Day”.
Did you ever want to be the life of the party? There is a story of a 15-year-old boy that, with a novelty ring, “touted to possess ‘hypnotic’ powers”. Well, within a few minutes, he truly ended up placing a young lady into a trance but was unable to get her totally out of it. A call to her parents, a trip to the hospital, and a psychiatrist later, the trance was broken. Just be careful at your next party with your jewelry and what you say!
~The Traveler
Unfortunately an erroneous report…
May 3, 2013 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Premature reports which have proven to be untrue are all too common in newspapers of all eras. The famous “Dewey Defeats Truman“ headline of the “Chicago Tribune” of 1948 is perhaps the most well known. Here is one which I’ve not seen before as reported in the “Prescott Journal Miner” of Arizona, April 3, 1932. It was just over a month later that the Lindbergh baby was found dead. Please share other false reports with the collectible community.
Before the days of Raid…
April 19, 2013 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Here’s an interesting “sport” as reported in “The Evening Times“, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, June 4, 1912. Talk about fun!!!
Curious juncture of image, date, and event…
April 14, 2013 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Sunday Magazine” issue of the Detroit News Tribune, April 14, 1912 offers a curious juxtaposition of date, image, and event (see below). The color print on the cover shows a woman waving from what would appear to be the deck of a ship. This also happens to be the very day the Titanic stuck the iceberg, which would go down in history as one of the more tragic maritime disasters of all time.
At times cover prints or content within newspapers offer some interesting collectibles, even when the the relevance could not have been known when published.
Gift of newspapers can spark a life-long hobby…
April 8, 2013 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
A recent piece on the web concerning the gift of a “stack of old newspapers” (see the hyperlink) to a grandson is a common story in our collecting world. A woman from Racine, Wisconsin, gave her grandson a box of historic newspapers, mostly World War II headline reports but including other events of the post-war era, collected by her husband. The photos show some nice banner headlines, several of the issues being the “Chicago Tribune” but including other titles from the Midwest.
Such finds, or gifts, are typically the catalyst for a new-found hobby. And newspapers from the last 60 or 70 years can be found for even the most modest of collecting budgets. Our website features major events of World War II, the Holocaust, the space race, baseball, Korean War, Vietnam War, Watergate–you name the event and it’s likely among the 2600+ issues from this era found on our website. Many prices range from $20 to $40 while some more significant events or dramatic headlines achieve higher values, and would be among the best newspapers for any collection.
For the beginning collector, the 20th century is an excellent entree to the much bigger world of our hobby which can includes newspapers back to the 16th century. Large headlines or events remembered by elder relatives bring to life the events which were formative to the American experience of the last 70 years. See: Stack of Old Newspapers
The Traveler… the strike is over… looking to the future…
April 1, 2013 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I journeyed to Detroit, Michigan by the way of The Detroit News of April 1, 1963. There I found that people of New York city would be able to enjoying their daily papers again as the 114-day newspaper strike had ended. Newspaper headlines read as “New York’s Alive Again!”, “Well, Hello There! We have News For You” and “Read All About It – Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”. “A series of labor disputes had shut down the papers for nearly four months and cost the city’s economy an estimated $250 million.” Some of the newspapers came back to print with the price of the issues being raised by half, some even doubled the cost per issue.
The back page of the issue features an article “Economists See a Future of Abundance – Full, Rich Life Only 40 Years Away… The Year 2000”. This is an interesting look at four decades into the future with articles of “Note of Caution on Planning”; “Ample Resources Seen for Future”; “More Funds Urged for Research”; “Taller Americans, Bigger Appetites”; “Energy Demand Due to Triple” and more. It also includes four interesting illustrations of the futuristic glimpses of life (see image below or click on link above). Ready to use your car that is able to take to the air to avoid the heavy traffic on the turnpikes and freeways?
~The Traveler
The Traveler… the battling suffragist… for the Irish…
March 18, 2013 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to Springfield, Massachusetts by way of the Springfield Daily Republican dated March 18, 1913 where I found coverage of a suffragist event held in England (see image below). The British militant suffragist had declared war against their sisters who were working for the vote for women by constitutional means. The meeting was thrown into disorder until ladies had to be ejected from the event and peace was restored.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, there are three small articles on the front page relating to this special day. One was of President Wilson wearing a shamrock sprig in his lapel and the reporting of “green” festivities at the Capitol. Another was the diversion of a waiters strike of the Irish national banquet in London. And the last is of Police Judge Killen who annually releases all the Irish from jail… check out that report!
~The Traveler